Accessory trim for kitchen range



May 27, 1969 P. J. MORE ACCESSORY TRIM FOR KITCHEN RANGE Filed Sept. 25. 1967 INVENTOR. 3'. MORE BY m PIC-5.2.

H IS ATTORNEY United States Patent Int. Cl. F24c 3/00 US. Cl. 126-39 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a kitchen range including a combined cooktop and oven, where the cooktop is provided with a plurality of surface heating means and the oven is disposed directly beneath the cooktop. The range is a free-standing range where at least one side of the' range is positioned against the side of a kitchen counter cabinet. A trim strip is provided to close the gap that exists between the side edge of the counter cabinet and the adjacent side edge of the cooktop to prevent soil from falling therein. The trim strip is an elongated member of generally T-shaped cross-section having a vertical shank and a horizontal crown, where the shank is adapted to enter the gap while the crown serves to bridge the gap and overlie the edge of the cooktop and the adjacent edge of the counter cabinet. The shank of the trim strip has a series of vertical slits along the length thereof to form the shank into a plurality of resilient fingers that are alternately spread in opposite directions and exert an outward force against the side of the cooktop and the side of the edge of the counter cabinet.

Cross-reference to related patent The present invention is a modification of the kitchen range and accessory trim strip invention taught in the patent of George A. Scott, No. 3,169,518, which is also assigned to the General Electric Company, the assignee of the present invention. In the Scott invention, the trim strip is adapted to be fastened into and carried by the side of the cooktop, and there is a separate front trim member or extension in telescopic relation with the trim strip for covering the front edge of the counter cabinet.

Background of the invention The present invention is related to free-standing kitchen appliances such as a domestic range that is adapted to be positioned in a notched-out or between separated sections of kitchen counter cabinets, and particularly to the design of trim strips to be assembled in the gap that exists between the side edge of the counter cabinet and the adjacent side edge of the range cooktop. Without some means of closing this gap this'area may become an unsightly dirt catcher or small articles may become lost therein.

There is a definite trend in the design of new homes to provide built-in kitchen appliances especially kitchen ranges and automatic dishwashers. It is diificult for the carpenter to build kitchen counter cabinets exactly flush against the side of the range because some clearance is necessary in order to permit the range to be shoved into position against the kitchen wall. Such ranges are usually provided with leveling feet so that the top of the cooktop may be raised or lowered to correspond to the level of the countertop which covers the counter cabinet. If the cooktop is not quite level on the first try, the range must be pulled out from the counter cabinets and the leveling feet readjusted before the range is replaced against the wall.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a kitchen range with an accessory trim strip to close the gap that exists between the side edge of the range cooktop and adjacent edge of the countertop, Where the trim strip has an adjustable holding force to accommodate gaps of varying width from front to back of the countertop.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a kitchen range of the class described with a side trim strip for finishing the edge of the cooktop and which may be installed after the range is in place.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a kitchen range of the class described with a trim strip that has a simplified manner of fastening the strip in place.

Summary of the invention The present invention, in accordance with one form mounted with at least one side flush against the side of a kitchen counter cabinet. A trim strip is provided for closing the gap that exists between the side edge of the countertop and the adjacent edge of the range cooktop. Such a trim strip is in the form of a generally T-shaped cross-section with a vertical shank fitted into the gap and a horizontal crown adapted to bridge the gap and overlie the edge of the countertop and the adjacent edge of the cooktop. The shank of the trim strip is slit at multiple places along the length thereof to form resilient fingers that are alternately spread apart in opposite directions to exert pressure against the side of the countertop and the adjacent side of the cooktop. Means are also provided for attaching the back end of the trim strip to the range and the front end of the trim strip to the front edge of the countertop.

Brief description of the drawing My invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a freestanding kitchen range positioned between two sections of kitchen counter cabinets and showing at the right side of the range a trim strip of the present invention in a raised position prior to assembly, and at the left side of the range a similar trim strip in its assembled position.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view on a reduced scale showing the left side edge of the range of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional elevational View taken through the left side of the cooktop of the range of FIGURE 1 on the lines 33 thereof and showing the nature of the resilient fingers of the shank of the trim strip of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the left side top front corner of the range of FIGURE 1 taken from below the countertop to show the means of fastening the front extension of the trim strip to the underside of the countertop.

Description of the preferred embodiment Turning now to a consideration of the drawings and in particular to FIGURE 1, there is shown for illustrative purposes a typical kitchen counter cabinet 10 that comes in modular sections and would ordinarily contain various accommodations such as utensil drawers and storage shelves (not shown), and including a horizontal countertop 12 of laminated plastic material such as Textolite or the like assembled over a thick plywood base. The back edge of the countertop 12 is usually provided with a raised molding 14 so as to prevent the spillage of liquids or food crumbs behind the cabinets 10.

An electric range 16 has been illustrated as being positioned between two sections of kitchen cabinets 10. These cabinets are meant to be arranged flush against the side walls of the range, but of course there has to be some clearance so as to permit the range to be shoved back against the kitchen wall. While an electric range has been illustrated, it will readily be apparent to those skilled in this art that the type of heating means for the range is not critical to the success of the present invention. Moreover, there is nothing to limit the use of this invention to the range art. The invention could be used with other free-standing kitchen appliances such as automatic washers and dryers, automatic dishwashers, compact refrigerators, domestic incinerators and cabinet type hot water heaters.

The range 16 has a top cooking surface or cooktop 18 and an underlying oven identified by its front-opening drop door 20. The cooktop 18 is provided with a plurality of surface heating elements 21. Along the rear edge of the cooktop 18 is an upstanding backsplasher 23 in which are mounted the necessary control components such as selector switches 25 for the surface heating elements 21, and oven controls 27 such as an oven selector switch and an oven thermostat as is conventional in this art. The backsplasher 16 is an elongated box-like housing which is bolted to the cooktop by through bolts 28 extending down from the top thereof, as is best described in my co-pending application Ser. No. 550,186, now Patent No. 3,422,812, which was filed on May 16, 1966, and is also assigned to the General Electric Company, the assignee of the present invention.

The present invention relates to an elongated trim strip 30 which is adapted to close the gap or clearance space 29 between the top edge of the side wall of the cooktop 18 and the adjacent side edge of the countertop 12. This trim strip 30 is generally a T-shaped stainless steel rolled form having a horizontal crown 31 and a vertical shank portion 32 as is best seen in FIGURE 3. Notice that the shank portion 32 is adapted to be inserted into the gap 29, while the crown 31 is adapted to bridge the gap and to bear down against the side edge of the cooktop 18 and the adjacent side edge of the countertop 12 with a slight springing action. Notice that the trim strip 30 is of single strip construction that has its crown 31 folded double as at 34 at one side edge, while the other side edge is also doubled under as at 35. The shank portion 32 is connected at the center of the crown 31 to this double-over portion 35. Hence, the shank 32 is of single thickness while the crown 31 is of double thickness.

It is important to have lateral adjustability of the shank 32 within the gap 29 so that the shank will exert outward pressure against the side of the cooktop 18 and the side of the countertop 12 and thus provide a holding force for the trim strip. Looking at FIGURE 1 at the raised section of the trim strip 30 at the right side of the range it will be noted that the shank 32 has a series of vertical slits 37 cut therein along the length thereof at regularly spaced intervals; for example, every inch and a half. The portion of the shank 32 between .adjacent slits 37, 37 may be considered as resilient fingers or tabs 38, and these are then spread apart in opposite directions in an alternate fashion. The purpose of these resilient fingers 38 is to provide an adjustable means for exerting an outward pressure against the sides of the cooktop 18 and the side of the countertop 12 as is best seen in FIGURE 3 depending upon the width of the gap 29 and whether the gap is uniform in width from front to back of the countertop or whether it might taper. In any event the resilient fingers 38 may be spread apart or compressed by the installer of the range to fit the needs at hand, and this adjustment can take place without disturbing the crown 31 of the trim strip.

These resilient fingers 38 provide a strong holding action of the trim strip 30 closing the gap 29 between the side of the range and the side of the cabinet, but a preferred embodiment includes fastening means at the rear of the trim strip and one at the front for supplementing to this holding action. For example, at the rear end 40 of the trim strip 30 the backsplasher 16 is raised slightly by loosening the bolts 28 to provide a crack thereunder, and the crown 31 of the trim strip 30 is slid under the backsplasher 16 a slight amount as is best seen in FIGURE 2. Then the backsplasher is tightened down to clamp the rear end of the strip 30 in place.

At the front end of the trim strip 30 there is a narrow extension 42 of the crown 31 as is best seen in FIGURE 1 at the right of the range. This extension 42 is adapted to overlap only the front edge of the countertop 12 and not to overlap the adjacent edge of the front corner of the cooktop 18. This is so because the extension 42 is adapted to be bent down across the front edge of the countertop and then to be folded thereunder. This strip extension 42 is provided with a hole 43 near its free end for receiving a small fastening screw 44 as is best seen in FIGURE 4. One important advantage of this narrow extension strip 42 is that it is capable of being fitted to various front edge treatments of the countertop 12; for example, a square self-edged countertop as is illustrated in FIGURE 1 or to a postformed or bullnose countertop which has a raised semi-circular formation.

One of the preferred methods of installing this trim strip 30 is to insert it into the gap 29 from the front of the countertop 12 by threading it into the gap and pushing the strip toward the rear of the countertop all the time squeezing the entering resilient fingers 38 enough so that they are able to pass into the gap and when released spring back against the sides of the cooktop 18 and countertop 12. A small block of wood may be used as a pusher against the crown 31 of the trim strip Where it meets the narrow extension 42.

Modifications of this invention will occur .to those skilled in this art. Therefore it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed but that it is intended to cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of this invention as claimed.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1.' A free-standing appliance comprising an appliance body having a generally fiat top surface, the appliance being adapted to be positioned with a kitchen counter cabinet arranged against at least one side theerof, and a trim strip for closing the gap between the side edge of the kitchen counter cabinet and the adjacent edge of the appliance top surface, said trim strip being an elongated member of generally T-shaped cross-section having a vertical shank adapted to be inserted into the gap and a horizontal crown adapted to bridge the gap and overlie the edge of the cooktop and the adjacent edge of the kitchen counter cabinet, the shank of the trim strip being slit vertically along the bottom edge at multiple locations along the length thereof to form a plurality of downwardly extending resilient fingers that are alternately spread in opposite directions and adapted to fill the said gap.

2. A free-standing appliance as recited in claim 1 wherein the appliance is a kitchen range that includes a combined cooktop and oven, wherein the cooktop is provided with a plurality of surface heating means and the oven is disposed directly beneath the cooktop, the back end of the trim strip is fastened to the cooktop, and fastening means adapted to attach the front end of the trim strip to the front of the counter cabinet.

3. A kitchen range comprising a range body that includes a combined cooktop and oven wherein the cooktop is provided with a plurality of surface heating means and the oven is disposed directly beneath the cooktop, and a control backsplash arranged along the back edge of the cooktop, the range being adapted to be positioned against the side of a counter cabinet with a slight gap therebetween, and a trim strip for colsing the gap between the side edge of the counter cabinet and the adjacent edge of the range cooktop, said trim strip being an elongated member of generally T-shaped crosssection having a vertical shank adapted to be positioned within the gap and a horizontal crown adapted to bridge the gap and overlie the edge of the cooktop and the adjacent edge of the counter cabinet, the shank of the trim strip including a plurality of resilient fingers that are alternately spread in opposite directions and adapted to bear against the side edge of the cooktop and the opposing edge of the counter cabinet, the back end of the trim strip being caught between the backsplasher and the cooktop, the

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1919 Shaw 2/1965 Scott 126--39 10 FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

EDWARD G. FAVORS, Assistant Examiner. 

